Tuesday, September 07, 2010

Sylvester Stallone doesn't need Viagra

"Not every Pfizer employee was thrilled about Viagra. The worst job in pharmaceutical sales? Being a Pfizer employee who didn't sell the wonder drug"-Viagra Planet chapter 11, from 'Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman' by Jamie Reidy.

Anne Hathaway as Maggie Murdock and Jake Gyllenhaal as Jamie Randall in "Love and other drugs" (2010)

Official poster of "Love and other drugs", starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway. Rated R for strong sexuality and nudity

Smith: "So you worked for Pfizer first, and when you started, is that when Viagra came out?

Reidy: Viagra came out like, two and a half years after I started.

Smith: And at one point you were the top salesman?

Reidy: Yeah, when I left Pfizer, I was number one, overall. And this is something that, when the paperback edition comes out I've got to clarify at the end, because I can see why people would think that I say I was the number one Viagra guy. Pharmaceutical sales are kind of like the decathlon in the Olympics -- you sell three or four different drugs, and to win the decathlon you don't have to finish first place in every race. You just have to do the best overall. You know, second place here, fifth place here, third place, and then they add up all the points, and you figure out who wins the gold medal in the decathlon. Pharmaceutical sales are the same way. I was pretty good in all three drugs, and all told, that made me the number one rep in the country. You follow me?

Smith: I follow you. But the focus of the book is your sales for Viagra.

Reidy: Yeah, the focus of the book is how everything in pharmaceutical sales works. How you can make it look like you're working when you're not working. I never should have gotten promoted to sell Viagra, because my sales numbers were pretty mediocre, but I fell through the cracks -- wonderful cracks in the system -- and got promoted, and the last third of the book is all about me selling Viagra, and what it was like.

Smith: Now, is it because there was just so much publicity about Viagra at that time that it made it the most interesting drug to talk about?

Reidy: Absolutely. That was part of the problem for me; one of the things that was delaying me from pursuing being a writer is that I was looking for my story, and the story of a drug rep and behind-the-scenes in pharmaceutical sales -- that's interesting, but it's not enough to carry a whole book. Once I got promoted to sell Viagra, and it became the media phenomenon that it was, then I had my hook, and I said, "Okay, this is something that people are going to want to read about." Source: www.naturalnews.com

Sylvester Stallone, his daughters Scarlet Rose, Sophia Rose and Sistine Rose, and his wife Jennifer Flavin arrive at a screening of Lionsgate Films' "The Expendables" at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino August 11, 2010 in Las Vegas

Sylvester Stallone, actor/director in The Expendables (2010)

"Sylvester Stallone is adamant he won't succumb to using sex-aid drug Viagra, because he's happy with his wife Jennifer Flavin. Sylvester Stallone and Jennifer Flavin, some years ago.

The 64-year-old Rambo star insists no man should need to use pills to help their sex life if they have an attractive lover "unless you're jet-lagged", adding, "It's all about your partner, let's face it."And the actor relies on his charm to woo women: "I'm a good flirt. I do flirt well. Not that I'm a great Casanova but I think women love clever banter, not just saying, 'Let's go to my house and get naked.' Maybe later but have a joke around first." Source: www.aceshowbiz.com